Which movies feature the Prisoners star at his most professionally competent?
Weve known Jake Gyllenhaal on our movie screens since he was a kid. But as hes grown into an adult, hes taken on the usual wide variety of cinematic occupations: cop, soldier, mathematician, Prince of Persia. Of course, movie characters do not always make the best workers. And since so much of Prisoners appears to hinge on Jakes characters abilities as a police detective, we figured wed rank Gyllenhaals roles in order of how good he is at his job in each of them.
15. Holden Worther in The Good Girl: Theres really no getting around that Holden is a terrible employee at the department store where he works. Hes creepy, he lies, he steals. Its only his status as an extremely terrible boyfriend for Jennifer Anistons character that masks just what a terrible employee he is.
14. Jordan in Lovely & Amazing: Very similar to Holden in that he is both a pretty poor employee (Jordan works at a photo developing hut) (ask your grandparents) and an even worse romantic prospect for the lead character (this time Catherine Keener).
13. Dastan in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time: What a terrible Prince of Persia Dastan makes! Usurped and banished and always fighting. Isnt a prince supposed to be a statesman?
12. Joe Nast in Moonlight Mile: You can probably chalk up Joes fairly sub-par performance as a budding entrepreneur up to the fact that his girlfriend was murdered just before the film began.
11. Harold Dobbs in Proof: We dont really see Hal do very much mathematicianing in Proof, but the secret of academia is that you have to be secretly very ambitious, and by ferreting out a secret proof written by Catherines dead father, Hal is really on the make.
10. Douglas Freeman in Rendition: Points to Freeman for opening his eyes and realizing that torture isnt the way to do his job (as CIA intelligence agent), but his ineffectiveness to stop it mitigates that goodness.
9. Anthony Swofford in Jarhead: Private Swofford is a loose cannon of a soldier, and his lack of discipline makes him a problem. His unruliness is a good commentary on the insanity of war, sure, but it probably makes him a pain in the ass to work with.
8. Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain: Technically, Jack isnt so much a cowboy as he is a sheep-herder (okay, for the bulk of this movie, hes a rodeo cowboy, but thats not the part everybody remembers), and as a sheep-herder, Jack does okay. He and Ennis manage to fend off a bear attack and keep the flock relatively safe. But when Randy Quaid shoots them side-eye for taking time out of their work day to do whatever hes not entirely wrong.
7. Colter Stevens in Source Code: Captain Stevens is actually super good at his job, and once he gets the hang of how the source code works, his learning curve is rather steep. Which is saying something, since the whole idea of the source code may not make any sense at all.
6. Sam Hall in The Day After Tomorrow: Sams just a student, so no real job, but hes pretty solid on his academic decathlon team, and once the apocalypse happens, he uses his smarts to rally the survivors into the New York Public Library.
5. Homer Hickham in October Sky: Again, Homer is just a student, but again, hes an exceptionally bright one, as his rocket-creating exploits show.
4. Bran Taylor in End of Watch: Officer Taylor is young but he takes his job seriously, and when hes placed in extreme situations, he proves to be both a quick thinker and a selfless public servant.
3. Robert Graysmith in Zodiac: So, the Zodiac killer was never officially caught, fine. But Graysmiths job was reporter, not detective, and he pretty much nailed the story.
2. Jamie Randall in Love and Other Drugs: Jamie is a natural at pharmaceutical sales. Hes enthusiastic, attractive, and completely hollow at the core. Practically perfect in every way.
1. Donnie Darko in Donnie Darko: You might say that Donnie is merely an unemployed high-school student, and whats so special about that? Youd be right. But if youve seen the movie, you know that Donnies real role in the film is as a superhero whose mission is to put the universe back in its intended order, and he accomplishes that task perfectly.
Most recent headlines
01/01/2026
Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Announces 2026 Noel Schajris Scholarship The scholarship will cover tuition and housing for one Berklee College of Music stud...
01/01/2026
New year, new games, all with RTX 5080-powered cloud energy. GeForce NOW is kicking off 2026 by looking back at an unforgettable year of wins and wildly high fr...
31/12/2025
Back to All News
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-V...
30/12/2025
As the College Football Playoff Enters the Quarterfinals, ESPN Blows Out Its Meg...
30/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Original ArticlesTake a look back at all our coverage of big-time productions, game-changing technologies, and state-of-the-art new faci...
30/12/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Dec. 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, J...
30/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
30/12/2025
It marked the first civilian operational authorization for a HAPS flight in Europe, led by Space42's subsidiary, Mira Aerospace
The flight demonstrated HAP...
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser SpectacularStunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium techBy Dan Daley, Audio Edito...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform VideoWatch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY!By Brandon ...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today!By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
P...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's The Great Flood and Culinary Class Wars 2 Top Gl...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things By the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shap...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
Which movies feature the Prisoners star at his most professionally competent? 
